A Summary of major Construction Projects

The vast majority of the work to improve railway lines, which impacts on the frequency and journey times info as per the journey guides, is completed over one Sat/Sun period.
So if you can't find a usual route or a train departure online, it can be worth having a look at the links to the national construction work, which you will find below.
You may then have to translate what you'll find, but it can be worth the effort to discover what's occurring and to glean whether you'll need to take a bus for part of the journey, or whether trains are being diverted.
Alterations to the usual service are often not particularly obvious when looking up the journey on a ticket booking service.

The information included below is a guide to the the more extensive construction projects which are impacting on train services for a week or more.
Therefore these are the projects which are good to be aware of if you're planning a rail pass itinerary and want to avoid any hassle, or are wondering why a typical connection isn't available on multiple dates.

Also worth knowing is that many major construction work projects, which require timetable alterations, aren't confirmed until around two months ahead.

These are the upcoming rail construction projects which;

• last more than a weekend, so also impact on Monday to Friday travel
• affect long-distance express trains
• result in trains being diverted, with longer journey times (which impacts on connections)
• Or, are being substituted by buses for part of the journey.

1: The Tauern Railway

A key rail route in Austria, the Tauern Railway, is to be closed for more than six months, for construction work until July 27th.
The Tauern Railway is the main railway route in south-west Austria, as it links Salzburg with Villach and Klagenfurt, but until March 2nd the plan is for express buses to replace trains between Bischofshofen and Spittal-Millstätter.
Though trains will be able to travel beyond Bischofshofen to provide a direct service between Salzburg and the other key destination along the route, which is Bad Gastein.

So until June 27th there will be no trains operating between Bad Gastein and Spittal-Millstätter.
The long distance services which typically travel the length of the Tauern Railway are on these two routes.

1. Frankfurt (Main) - Stuttgart - München Hbf - Salzburg ↔ Bischofshofen - Bad Gastein - Spittal-Millstätter - Villach - Klagenfurt
2. Wien Hbf - St Polten - Linz - Salzburg ↔ Bischofshofen - Bad Gastein - Spittal-Millstätter - Villach - Klagenfurt
   A key function of these trains to/from Wien Hbf is to provide a direct link between both Wien and Linz with Bad Gastein, but during the work these trains will be turned around in Salzburg.

There will be EC trains operating a Frankfurt (Main) - Stuttgart - München Hbf - Salzburg ↔ Bischofshofen - Bad Gastein service, but until June 27th there will be no direct trains between Salzburg and the resort towns on the Worthersee between Villach and Klagenfurt.
The trains taking the Wien - Leoben ↔ Klagenfurt - Villach route are unaffected and it looks as though more of them will have their journeys extended beyond Villach to/from Spittal-Millstätter.

What will be impacted by the work on the Tauern Railway are the daytime rail journeys which link Germany, Salzburg and other destinations in western Austria with Slovenia and Croatia.
The trains on the Frankfurt (Main) - Stuttgart - München Hbf - Salzburg ↔ Bischofshofen - Bad Gastein - Spittal-Millstätter - Villach - Klagenfurt route typically connect at Villach with trains taking a Villach ↔ Lesce-Beld - Ljubljana - Zidane Most - Zagreb - Vinkovici route.

2: Innsbruck ↔ Bregenz

From April 23 (8:30 a.m.) to April 29th (03:00 a.m.) due to construction work west of Ötztal train station long-distance trains will be suspended on part of the route between Innsbruck and Bregenz.
A replacement rail service with buses will be set up, but connections cannot be guaranteed and bicycles cannot be transported.
This route is taken by Railjet (RJX) trains on the Bregenz - Feldkirch - St Anton Landeck-Zams ↔ Innsbruck - Salzburg - Linz - Wien / Vienna route.

3: Vienna / Wien ↔ Salzburg

Due to construction work, long-distance trains will run with modified travel times between Vienna Hbf and Salzburg Hbf from May 12, 2025 to June 5, 2025.
The night trains and long-distance trains will be diverted between Vienna Hbf and St. Pölten Hbf .
Some long-distance trains cannot run and connections cannot be guaranteed.
Due to the construction work, there may be some restrictions when booking seat reservations.

On Mondays to Fridays until April 5th the IC trains on the De Panne - Gent-Sint-Pieters - Antwerpen-Centraal route will only run between De Panne and Antwerpen-Berchem station.
Other trains will be available between Berchem and Centraal stations, but connections in and out of the EC trains to / from Rotterdam can be made at Antwerpen-Berchem.
The IC trains on the Oostende - Brugge- Gent-Sint-Pieters - Antwerpen route will seemingly still be arriving at and departing from both Berchem and Centraal stations.

Note that SNCF doesn't currently seem to be releasing advance notification of construction projects.

1: Koln / Cologne - Bonn - Koblenz
Until June 5th, 2025 (11:59pm)
Long-distance trains between Koblenz and Cologne will be diverted to the right bank of the Rhine with travel times extended by up to 15 minutes.
Affected long-distance routes:

• (Hamburg) - Dortmund - Koln - Koblenz - Mainz - Karlsruhe - Freiburg - Basel - Zurich / Interlaken by EC train
• Hamburg) - Dortmund - Koln - Koblenz - Mainz - Frankfurt Flughafen - Heidleburg - Stuttgart / Karlsruhe by ICE train
• Hamburg) - Dortmund - Koln - Koblenz - Mainz - Frankfurt Flughafen - Frankfurt (Main) - Nurnberg - (Passau) - Linz - Wien / Vienna - by ICE train
• Berlin - Hannover - Hamm - Koln - Bonn by ICE Sprinter
  Until June 5th these services and other long-distance trains will not be calling in Bonn Hbf, Andermatt and Remagen
  Trains will be stopping in Bonn-Buel instead of Bonn Hbf - and most of the diverted trains will be using Koln Messe-Deutz station instead of Koln HBF.

2: from March 8th to March 22nd in Hamburg
Between these dates Hamburg can still be reached from all directions by long-distance trains, but the following changes will be in place:

• ICE trains to and from Kiel will be turning around in Hamburg and won't be operating between Hamburg and Kiel.
• The ICE and EC trains to and from Hamburg won't be using Hamburg-Altona and Hamburg-Damtor stations, they will be turning around at Hamburg Hbf.
• The direct trains between Hamburg and Westerland (Sylt) will be much reduced
• There will be a reduced service between Hamburg and Berlin, Hanover, Frankfurt and southern German

3: Berlin ↔ Rostock ↔ Warnemünde
Work on the main route between Berlin and the north is having the following impac.
From April 5th to November 29th: All trains between Berlin and Warnemünde will only operate from/to Rostock Central Station, alternative local transport service will be provide between Rostock and Warnemünde.

4: Mannheim ↔ Stuttgart ↔ from April 17 to June 6
Due to the renovation of Freudenstein Tunnel the high-speed line between Mannheim and Stuttgart will be closed betwen these dates.
As a consequence:

• the ICE service on the Mannheim - Stuttgart - Munich route will be reduced to 1 x train per hour.
• these hourly trains will be diverted on to a longer route between Mannheim and Stuttgart with journey times being extended by around 40 minutes.
• According to the OBB website, the EC trains between Germany and Salzburg which typically travel between Frankfurt and Munich, will be turning around in Munich and won't be calling at any station north of Munich

5: Karlsruhe ↔ Basel
from Good Friday, April 18 (9 p.m.) to Sunday, April 27 (11:15 p.m.)
Construction work will be impacting on this route between these dates, but details are awaiting confirmation.
The impacted ICE routes are:

• Basel - Freiburg -Karlsruhe - Mannheim - Frankfurt Flughafen - Koln - Dortmund - Hamburg
• Zurich - Basel - Freiburg -Karlsruhe - Mannheim - Frankfurt (Main) Hbf - Kassel - Hannover - Hamburg
• (Interlaken - Bern) - Basel Basel - Freiburg -Karlsruhe - Mannheim - Frankfurt (Main) Hbf - Kassel - Berlin

6: Hannover ↔ Koln / Cologne
A bridge is being worked on Herford and as a consequence:

• Until June 6th some of the ICE trains on the Hannover ↔ Koln / Cologne route won't be calling in Bielefeld and Hamm.
• From June 7th to August 8th no ICE trains on these routes will be calling in Bielefeld and Hamm; And the additional trains Aachen / Cologne-Dortmund-Bielefeld-Hanover-Berlin will be cancelled.

7: Hamburg ↔ Berlin
Aug 1st 2025 to April 30th 2026
Due to the renovation of the Hamburg - Berlin route, there will be maximum of 1 x express (ICE) train per hour between the two cities and journey times will be extended by around 45 minutes.

Easter weekend disruption April 18th to April 21st:
The following lines will be closed over the Easter weekend:

• Buses will replace trains between Cambridge and Ely, and between Cambridge and Bury St Edmunds from April 18th to April 21st
• Engineering work is taking place between London Euston and Watford Junction / Milton Keynes Central / Northampton, closing various lines; From Saturday April 19th to Monday April 21st inclusive.
  As a result Avanti West Coast services will not be available between London Euston and Milton Keynes.
• from April 19th to April 21st the route through Stockport station will be closed; CrossCountry will be replacing trains with buses on two routes, Stafford - Stoke-on-Trent - Macclesfield and Stoke-on-Trent - Macclesfield - Stockport.
• Rail replacement buses will run between Amersham and Aylesbury Vale Parkway.

Due to infrastructure improvement works on the Pisa - La Spezia line, the following changes are currently ongoing:

• Frecciargento trains from Rome to Genoa, via Florence, will be subject to timetable changes with travel times extended from Tuesday 7 January to Sunday 30 March.
• Frecciargento trains from Genoa to Rome, via Florence, will be subject to timetable changes with travel times extended from Tuesday 7 January to Wednesday 30 April.
• Frecciabianca trains from Rome to Genoa - Milan - Turin, via Grosseto, will be subject to timetable changes with travel times extended from Tuesday 7 January to Sunday 30 March.
• Frecciabianca trains from Turin - Milan - Genoa to Rome, via Grosseto, will be subject to timetable changes with travel times extended from Tuesday 7 January to Wednesday 30 April.
• Intercity trains on the Naples - Sestri Levante, Rome - Ventimiglia, Milan - La Spezia/Livorno/Grosseto, Milan - Reggio Calabria, Turin - Salerno routes are subject to timetable changes on departure, including early departures, and on arrival, with lengthening of travel times.
• Intercity Night trains on the Turin - Salerno/Reggio Calabria routes are subject to timetable changes on departure, including early departures, and on arrival, with lengthening of travel times.
• Regional trains on these routes

1. Pisa - La Spezia - Savona
2. Florence - La Spezia,
3. Parma/Pontremoli - La Spezia,
4. Milan/Bergamo - Pisa/Livorno via Pontremolese
5. Borgo Val di Taro/Pontremoli - Pisa/Florence
   are are subject to route limitations, cancellations and lengthening of travel times.

These are the upcoming major works on the railway lines, that will be impacting on international railway routes over sustained periods of time.

Due to construction work Tauern Valley route in southern Austria, the night trains on these routes are to be suspended from November 17, 2024 to July 13, 2025.

• Stuttgart - München - Salzburg ↔ Udine - Venice
• München ↔ Verona - Milano Rogoredo - Genova - La Spezia
• München ↔ Firenze - Roma

Due to construction work, trains EN 414 and EN 40414 will not be able to run between Zagreb Glavni kolodvor and Zurich HB or Stuttgart Hbf from 16 to 17 April 2025 to 28 to 29 April 2025
In the opposite direction trains EN 40237 and EN 40465 will not be able to run from 17 to 18 April 2025 to 29 to 30 April 2025.

The direct London ↔ Amsterdam services by Eurostar which resumed recently in both directions, but from Saturday March 29th at 4:00am to Tuesday April 22nd at 21:00,services are having to be suspended in both directions due to works on the line in Brussels.
Though according to the European Rail Timetable, this period of time will also be used to expand the capacity of the Eurostar departure zone in Amsterdam Centraal station.

From June 27 to August 24, 2025 buses replace trains between Arnhem in The Netherlands and Emmerich in Germany.
The ICE trains on the Amsterdam ↔ Frankfurt (Main) route will be diverted and won't be calling in Dusseldorf, Duisburg and Arnhem, but will instead be calling at Monchengladbach and Venlo.
The travel time between Germany and Amsterdam will be 30mins longer than usual.

Regional trains between Wien / Vienna and Bratislava usually depart hourly in two different routes:

• to Bratislava hl.st, the city's main railway station, via Marchegg, which is route REX8
• to Bratislava Petrzalka station, which is located on the south bank of the River Danube, which is route, REX6

However, until July 5th, due to construction work by the Slovak Railways (ZSR), trains on line REX8 can't be used between Marchegg station and Bratislava hl.st - A rail replacement service with buses will be set up for some trains between Marchegg and Bratislava.
During this time journeys between Vienna and Bratislava will mainly only be possible by using route REX6 - Though the Railjet train on the Zurich ↔ Bratislava route will be calling at both Bratislava hl.st and Bratislava Petrzalka.

Due to construction work on April 16 / 17th and April 28 / 29th the Zurich / Stuttgart to Zagreb train is cancelled entirely - and in the reverse direction from Zagreb, it will not be available on April 17 /18th and April 29 /30th.

From April 23 (8:30 a.m.) to April 29th (03:00 a.m.) due to construction work between Ötztal train station and Bludenz train station / or Sargans/Zurich, no long-distance trains will be able to operate between these locations.
A replacement rail service with buses will be set up, but connections cannot be guaranteed and bicycles cannot be transported.
This route is taken by:

• Railjet (RJX) daytime trains on the Zurich - Sargans - Buchs - Feldkirch - Landeck-Zams - Innsbruck - Salzburg - Linz - Wien - Budapest / Bratislava
• The EC 'Transalpin' daytime train on the Zurich - Sargans - Buchs - Feldkirch - Landeck-Zams - Innsbruck - Zell am See - Radstadt - Seltzhal - Graz route
• It looks as the night trains departures between Zurich and Budapest, Graz, Prague via Linz, Wien / Vienna and Zagreb will be cancelled from April 23rd to April 28th,

From May 16th to May 26th due to construction work, some long-distance trains cannot run between Linz/Donau Hbf and Summerau with a replacement rail service which presumably will require additional connections - and will impact on the availability of booking seat reservations.

From April 17 to June 6 the EC trains between Germany and Austria via Salzburg will be turning around in Munich and won't be serving any station north of Munich.